Floribama Riders

[This is a work in progress. I need to add more details and tighten this up.]

I had a pretty horrible Thursday the 12th and a great Friday the 13th that almost made up for it. I left work at 10 PM, feeling pretty pleased with myself for finishing a project but a little tired and relieved to be heading home. I was traveling on I-20, in the second lane from the right, with a string of cars in the right lane. One car started to merge into the right lane from the entrance ramp, and another car decided he wanted to be in my lane, even though I was directly next to him.

I dropped my VFR in a parking lot recently. The weather was cold, and I started 'er up, turned the bars to the right and let out the clutch too quickly. The motor died, and I plopped over on my right side. Yes, there were witnesses.

This is the first time I have dropped a bike in a parking lot in 10 years and 100K+ miles of riding. Kinda funny, considering I recently took the MSF course and practiced all those slow speed maneuvers.

Damage list

• Right peg: broke off
   
• Right mirror: broke off after I attempted to bend it back into position (sigh)
   
• Ego: Irrevocably shattered

The last riding day of my 2008 trip, en route to Antigua

[Written 8 October 2008
Antigua, Guatemala]

Guess what? Restaurant staffs in Latin America play loud, energetic Latin music for their amusement. It's not just in the U.S. I'm sitting close to the bar of El Arco Restaurante and Bar. The bar happens to be empty, except for employees, and I can hear the contrast in what they're playing for themselves, as compared to the tourists in the restaurant. From the bar side, I can hear interesting Latin music, but it's drowned out by the likes of Celine Dion singing the Titanic song. Oh, now it's Chicago from the Peter Cetera era. "You're the inspiration ... " Yuck.

10 October 2008
Atlanta, GA

I attended a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced Ridercourse today, literally the day after my return flight from Guatemala. The main purpose was to knock some points off a speeding ticket I had received, but I'm also thinking of becoming an instructor. This offered a chance to experience the class again and make some connections in the program.

My first impression upon entering the range was the speeds were way too low, and the experience wouldn't be very challenging. After riding a KLR650 up mountain passes coated with slick mud, how much could I learn from riding over a 2x4? As the morning progressed, I realized I could push myself even at low speeds.

My first emergency stop resulted in the VFR800 hopping up and down as both wheels fought for traction, the suspension compressing and releasing with each hop. Whoops! "Use a little less rear brake, and be smoother on the controls" the ridercoach advised. Umm, yeah. Maybe it would help if I didn't attempt full-on stops on cold tires as well.

James and Sandy on Volcan Pacaya

[Written 3 October 2008
San Pedro de la Laguna, Guatemala]

Here's a quick synopsis to get you caught up with my Guatemala trip.

Tuesday, 31 September - 6 AM flight, arriving in Guatemala City at 11:30. Taxi ride to Antigua. Picked up motorcycle from CATours, got a room at the Black Cat hostel, attended a lecture on youth gangs in Guatemala.

[Written 6 October 2008
Lanquin, Guatemala]

(The last few paragraphs contain a story about a dead dog found in the road. Some readers may prefer to skip that part.)

Sometimes you need to sit by yourself at the end of a table, eating a desayuno tipico of eggs, black beans and tortillas in a room full of people and know that you are happy. In front of my breakfast, a map spreads out on a rough wood table in the outdoors restaurant of El Retiro, a backpackers' resort in Lanquin, Guatemala.

I slept in a hammock under a thatched roof last night, with my motorcycle baggage strewn about underneath. I slept fitfully under a blanket, never quite getting comfortable with my back in a U shape. Tonight, I'll be more comfortable on the straw mat.

I woke with the dawn in the five o'clock hour and attempted to take some arty photos of the hammock looking out on the beautiful grounds of El Retiro. In retrospect, a photo of your feet in a hammock with a pretty background is pretty cliche, but these photos feature *my* hairy feet.

First-time racer's view of Road Atlanta

With all great tragedies, you have to let the emotional healing process complete before the story-telling can begin. I don't go to a therapist, and I have not self-medicated with alcohol lately, so I prescribed a few evenings of crying into my pillow. It's been four nights, and I think I'm about ready.

I thought that by announcing to all my friends that I would run my first race this past weekend that it would motivate me to wrap up the bike maintenance and get on the track. Unfortunately, I neglected to account for an important fact--I have no shame. Since I had not paid any fees, I was content to show up at a race with a half-prepped race bike, working on the bike between races and handling ridicule from my friends. It turned out to be a good dry run where I learned a lot about my vehicles and my character.

Thursday - I found the washer!

You'll recall from my earlier blog post that I lost a washer in the lower bowels of my SV650 motor. I asked for advice on three e-mail lists and received three different recommendations:

Ever thought about getting into racing? Well, if I can do it, so can you. I'm a complete noodlehead with mediocre mechanical abilities. I'm writing this Tuesday, June 10, with just a few days to go until my first WERA race at "Little Tally" aka Talladega Gran Prix Raceway.

Background

I have run 12 track weekends, many of which took place with the Floribama Riders. Also took the Ed Bargy school last year, but I have no race experience. I've got a 1999 SV650 with 82,000 miles, including ride up and down the East Coast a few times, plus one run to Mexico.